10 Books Every Trader Must Read
Or maybe this should be called: “10 Books On How to Be a Trader”
Anyway.
So you think you want to be a trader? Maybe you are just starting out as one.
If it makes you feel better, you are not alone. Plenty of people have gone before you.
A few of them even took the time to put their experience (or the experience of others) down in book form.
My advice: Learn from them!
Learn the good. And learn the bad. Learn what worked for some — and what drove others to bankruptcy.
Have your life changed by one of their books — and shrug at the next book as you toss it to the side.
The quote goes: “Any fool can learn from experience. It’s better to learn from the experience of others.”
Do not get me wrong.
I am not saying these are the 10 best trading books or the only 10 books on trading that anyone should read, I am simply saying that every trader should read these 10 books.
Simple enough.
#1. The Education of a Speculator by Victor Niederhoffer
This book is the autobiographical account of the notorious Victor Niederhoffer. Love him or hate him — the man is a genius — no matter how good or bad his funds perform.
#2. Trend Commandments by Michael W. Covel
If you want to know what makes a trend-following system, this is the book to read.
#3. Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager
This book interviews the great traders of the world. It is a must.
#4. The Big Short by Michael Lewis
The ins and outs of how a small group of traders made a fortune seeing the last financial crash develop.
#5. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles MacKay
Never underestimate the power of large groups of people to make incredibly stupid decisions.
#6. More Money Than God by Sebastian Mallaby
Incredible stories of the hedge-fund elite.
#7. The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The reason that the far-tail, of a normal distribution, market move happens once every ten years is because most of the financial world has no idea what it is doing.
#8. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefèvre
This is the story of Jesse Livermore. Learn how he rose. Learn how he flew. Learn how he fell.
#9. Confessions of a Street Addict by James J. Cramer
That manic guy on TV actually ran a hedge fund. And he was good at it.
#10. The Complete Turtle Trader by Michael W. Covel
Ever heard of “The Turtles?” You should have. They turned the investing world completely upside down. They are the Occam’s Razor of trading.
Read these, and at least you can get a sense of trading before you do too much with any real money.
Past reading and learning, the only real way to become a trader is to trade.
Just jump in. The water is warm.
Originally published at Sterling Terrell.
